Rumour Mongering and It's Havoc on Humanity

By Ishola Gbenga 

Rumor mongering might be thought to be trivial issues. But, it is seen as a big crime because of the far reaching effect it normally has on humans and the society at large. Some rumors have been spread in the past which had led to great consequences for the society in which it was spread. Ours is not excluded either. 

Looking at it's far reaching and negative impacts, one therefore, believe it is pertinent to eschew rumor mongering and get it eradicated completely especially, given the great deal of harm it has brought upon people and the society for which one can confidently establish the fact that, it is idleness that always results to this act. For sure, most people are jobless and idle hence the menace thrive unabated. Not that alone, most people because of their gullibility, take to spreading rumors, which in most cases have caused more harm than good to many.

Rumor mongering is a big crime against humanity as it has gone a long way to dent the image of families, personalities and even organizations. Many people, innocent people for that matter have become victims of this wicked act. In fact, some people engage in it to score some cheap points, while others have engaged in it to wreck one havoc or the other on the other party. Some people are even used as a tool to spread unfounded rumor such as carrying out campaign of calumny, character assassination and lots more. There are people who can't recover from the damage of rumour mongering till date which is not fair.

Rumour mongering is a bad development. It does more damage than good and that lend credence to the axiom, "bad news and fake news spread faster than a bullet". We can only call on people who derive personal gains in doing this to desist from such, forthwith. Such gains are temporal. They can't last because lies only have two legs, but they can't go far. It is a bad idea and negative thing to be indulged in especially in a saner society. It is indeed sad that some people on their part believe anything "hook, line and sinker" no matter the way and manner it is being packaged to them. This has not helped the society to thrive better because we are not supposed to accept every word spoken.

A lot of damages have been done to people in the past as a result of this, and the problem of redeeming back such an image cost a lot. This call for a need to investigate and cross check facts to confirm whether the message passed is either true or false. The holy book emphasizes that one should always verify very well what is the truth and accept only the truth and the truth shall definitely set one free. Hence, the act of joining others in spreading false rumour is punishable by God, therefore, one should not engage in it. Many times, people package lies as if they are the truth knowing well that it is nothing but fallacy.

In this same society, some people even refer to it as "white lie" literally translated in Yoruba language as Iro Funfun. Nobody should be deceived here! There is nothing called "white lie". Lie is lie! No matter how minimal. In fact, such white lies has gone a long way to ruin others and had done great damage to the life of others. Without much ado, it is necessary to sound a note of warning to those who formed the habit of telling lies and spreading unnecessary rumour, that it is a bad habit and should not be continued because it has done much harm than good in the past.

Rumour mongering is worse than killing someone atimes. The image and reputation of others are involved in such cases, hence, the need to desist from the act forthwith. One believe enough should be enough with criminal and other evil acts in our society. Rumour mongering, though many look trivial in nature to some people, the level at which it helps to destroy our society through it spread has done a great deal of harm to the society than good.

By extension, one would sympathize with some decent public office holders in our country today because of what Nigeria has done to them and how many of them now turned out to become another living example of how many technocrats would rather shun the arena of public service because of how badly Nigeria has treated them, thus making it difficult for the best and the brightest to step forward to contribute to the development of our society. 

However, the sad part of the recruitment of the best and the brightest into the governance of Nigeria is that many of these talented persons often end up either being frustrated out of the system because of fake news or rumours peddled against them, or they end up being set up for infractions, or at worst, as is common, they are left with bruised hearts and egos.

There are examples of Nigerians who have tried to serve Nigeria but have paid with their lives, or the lives of their relatives, or who remain scarred for life. When they are invited to serve, it is natural for them to see that as a special form of recognition, out of a large population of more than 200 million people. But our society is like a stockfish. When you think you can bend it with bare hands, you may end up bending your hands in the process.

Many who tried did so in vain. The stories are many, and one do not want to delve into too many individual tales be it at the Church, union, government or organizations, because every example has its own peculiar details, true and fictional, real and imagined, since those we identify as the best and the brightest have their own individuality too. 

It should therefore, worry all of us that we now live in a society where wisdom is in short supply. Lies suddenly turned standard stuff, mischief a major commodity and indecency a major character flaw. Here, we hope to see a more working judicial system that would make a scapegoat out of all these busybody fake news and rumour peddlers to serve as deterrent to others. God bless Nigeria!

Ishola Gbenga, ANIPR writes from Ilorin

isholagbenga@yahoo.com